The regulation of assisted death

The question whether to legalize some form of assisted death — either physician-assisted suicide or euthanasia — is currently on the agenda in a number of jurisdictions. This paper joins that debate by outlining a Model Policy for the legalization and regulation of these end-of-life measures. A constructive case is made for this policy, based on the civic virtues of compassion and respect, and the policy is then defended against the objections standardly raised against it, especially those that invoke the spectre of abuse or a slippery slope.